Namco-Bandai helping doing the labor on HD Smash Bros is by far and away more efficent than letting Sora do it. I didn't know the specfics but I'm not shocked either considering events. Besides, a NB partnership opens up stronger business ties that can only lead to positive things. Its a win-win.

Everything sounds good to me though. Iwata is the single best thing to ever happen to Nintendo, Yamauchi made a very wise decision.

All the info sounds fantastic, the bit about new IP's likely to pop out of Nintendo EAD proper sounds superb! Interested to see if the news of expansion could be the hearken the acquisition (platinum) of a 3rd party developer Nintendo is getting friendly with analogous to adding Monolith as a first party dev last console cycle.

Sakurai at EAD Tokyo would be a dream come true, there is so much talent arleady there, Sakurai would just be the apotheosis of the studio.

All sounds like good news, and hopefully leads to a larger high quality 1st party software output, with both new and established IP. As great as some of their games have been the last 2 gens, I'd love it if the Wii U marked the resurgence of the Nintendo from the SNES/N64 eras. They weren't infallible, of course, but there was a certain "magic" that has only really been felt in the Super Mario Galaxy games as of late. More partnerships like they've done with Platinum would be great as well.

How does a strong Yen figure into their plans for expansion? On one side you can argue that they need to be more focused on Japan but on the other side you could say that the relative strength of the Yen makes it easier for them to expand in the west. Or perhaps I am not analyzing this correctly?

I dunno about that. Nintendo is a Japanese company and I really like the fact that they take pride in that. Japanese companies don't need to be like Western companies. They need to be Japanese and proud of their heritage and what they bring into the industry.

It doesn't hurt to explore and study Western approaches to game design, but it shouldn't be taken as a "Holy Bible" of gaming design. That would be a complete shame.

What they have is fine though (Retro and NST) and they do have partnerships with numerious Western developers. Their core strength needs to be within their own country.

At this point isn't it just NST and Retro? I have no idea what NST does these days, do they even still exist?

Yep, they do. I think they have done a lot of work with Virtual Console emulation and the whole Mario VS DK series. I think one of the original producers of Sonic the Hedgehog recently joined NST so I do wonder if they are heading a project now...

How does a strong Yen figure into their plans for expansion? On one side you can argue that they need to be more focused on Japan but on the other side you could say that the relative strength of the Yen makes it easier for them to expand in the west. Or perhaps I am not analyzing this correctly?

I don't think its about money with them. They have plenty of it. Its about control and philosophy. Western developers are constantly switching Studios and Nintendo has a talent Pool structure that is very different from the single teams in the west. Retro helping to finish Mario kart 7 is an example of this.

I dunno about that. Nintendo is a Japanese company and I really like the fact that they take pride in that. Japanese companies don't need to be like Western companies. They need to be Japanese and proud of their heritage and what they bring into the industry.

It doesn't hurt to explore and study Western approaches to game design, but it shouldn't be taken as a "Holy Bible" of gaming design. That would be a complete shame.

What they have is fine though (Retro and NST) and they do have partnerships with numerious Western developers. Their core strength needs to be within their own country.

I'm not asking for them to give up their identity. I simply don't like seeing the Western market suffer droughts while the Japanese market flourishes. It also doesn't help that they region lock their shit.

Having a competing Nintendo EAD of Toronto or New York would do wonders for me as a gamer.

I'm not asking for them to give up their identity. I simply don't like seeing the Western market suffer droughts while the Japanese market flourishes. It also doesn't help that they region lock their shit.

Having a competing Nintendo EAD of Toronto or New York would be amazing and would keep me satisfied as a gamer.

Wouldn't the better solution be to just localize more of their games and at a faster rate? :I

But an EAD Toronto would be cool... because Toronto's cool. And then.. .. I could try to get a job there! //dreams

How does a strong Yen figure into their plans for expansion? On one side you can argue that they need to be more focused on Japan but on the other side you could say that the relative strength of the Yen makes it easier for them to expand in the west. Or perhaps I am not analyzing this correctly?

It's a longterm investment. The Yen could drop noticeably in the next few years. And to me, it seems like Nintendo (Iwata) hasn't figured out a good longterm strategy for western development yet.

Nintendo has some weird policies regarding localization so I wont put too much trust in that. In addition, the same "cultural" barrier holds back what games can be brought here.

A Nintendo focused on the homeland would have less restrictions to put up with.

Handheld wise, no.

Yeah, but I want my Fire Emblems localized faster. And released here (FE12...).
I am not really interested in Nintendo making more western-catered games like shooters and.. .. ?? sports games? They are awesome at what they do and should continue doing it. They should just bring more of it over.

They can open up new localization studios here instead, which can provide budget/quick localization for those quirky "too Japanese" games. Not that I am against Nintendo opening up another western branch or something, but I'd rather them focus on bringing other games over first.

It's a longterm investment. The Yen could drop noticeably in the next few years. And to me, it seems like Nintendo (Iwata) hasn't figure out a good longterm strategy for western development yet.

That's what Ken Lobb used to be there for. Shame they don't have another person like him to take some charge in western studio development. Though maybe they could even invest in a European studio... lots of good talent in places like Finland and such.

Originally Posted by M-PG71C

Yep, they do. I think they have done a lot of work with Virtual Console emulation and the whole Mario VS DK series. I think one of the original producers of Sonic the Hedgehog recently joined NST so I do wonder if they are heading a project now...

Looking at their current list they seem to be doing DSI Ware/ 3DS duty now. It will be interesting to see what Hirokazu Yasuhara can bring to the table for that studio.

I thought the huge building I drive by in Kyoto all the time they have been constructing for last 4 or 5 years was a factory but it sounds like maybe it is an engineering center?? Cool to see them expand software development if they hire more people and pay them well they could probably get the cream of the crop

Okay. That's nice. Not sure in what manner it addresses what I said, though. Maybe I wasn't clear? Alright, let me take another crack at this: Mario and co. will keep on being made after this change, and people will continue to criticize them for milking/rehashing their properties. That's not going to change.

The lack of western-developed handheld games isn't symptomatic of any particular Nintendo strategy, it's a reflection of the fact that handhelds are much more popular and enjoy a higher status in Japan that they do elsewhere.

What is this "magic" qualitative people talk about? How does one go about discerning it? And in what capacity is it missing in offerings that are outside of the Galaxy games?

Ill translate his post, though, im not an expert... from what im reading he either wanted Skyward Sword to be more "gritty", or couldnt figure out how to work the wiimote. Someone might want to step in with a better translation but thats what i got.

Okay. That's nice. Not sure in what manner it addresses what I said, though. Maybe I wasn't clear? Alright, let me take another crack at this: Mario and co. will keep on being made after this change, and people will continue to criticize them for milking/rehashing their properties. That's not going to change.

If Nintendo continue to make the same Mario & Zelda games and people continue to criticize Mario & Zelda for the stereotypical reasons then let them. The noise will always come.

There's too much Japanese hegemony that only continue to serve themselves.

Throw some of that wii-fit/NSMB/future nintendoland-money towards Retro, let them establish two teams. One that does the old Nintendo IPs and one working on a high budget original IP. Watch America and Europe fall like Japan before it.

I'm not sure if you're serious but I think Nintendo is the only company that could actually pull that off.

I am half serious. I don't think they should give up trying to encourage 3rd parties to be on their platform but i think they should keep expanding their 1st party. It's the only way to guarantee success for your console before launch.

All of these changes are pretty exciting, if only because it means we can expect a lot of new different things for WiiU and 3DS. I am especially interested in what a non-Miyaomoto-led EAD will come up with. My not so secret hope is for more heroines somehow to come out of this. Like a make a Zelda-ish game, except with a female and slightly different focus. More on magic combat than sword combat? Something like that.

Originally Posted by Sheroking

Always thought they should expand and develop more internally. God knows the quest for third parties never seems to come through, might as well
double the first party output.

Something that only people in Toronto actually believe.

You are just jealous that you don't live here. Then you would understand!

The lack of western-developed handheld games isn't symptomatic of any particular Nintendo strategy, it's a reflection of the fact that handhelds are much more popular and enjoy a higher status in Japan that they do elsewhere.

You're right but this isn't what I'm hinting at though. Unless the West gets some compensation for the games not localized, the drought becomes a Western specific problem simply because in addition to no third party, there isn't a first party backing it either.

Seems like they are going for the kill. They are basically saying FU to third party entities it seems and at the same time enticing developers to come and join the family. Good luck to them! Definitely seems that they feel a shift in the industry coming, and they are tired of relying on other companies for support or lack there of.